


A Dance to Remember

by celestialcassy



Category: Life of the Party D&D (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Masquerade, almost panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23419111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialcassy/pseuds/celestialcassy
Summary: Sariel didn’t even want to come to the ball, but it might not be as awful as she had predicted.
Relationships: Sariel/Elyse
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	A Dance to Remember

Sariel sat with her back to the wall, looking fixedly down at the champagne glass in her hand. Everything felt wrong, like the whole room was screaming at her with taunting familiarity, reminding her exactly why she shouldn’t have come. Blinking away tears, she raised her glass to her lips and downed its contents without thinking. Sinking down to sit on the cold marble floors, Sariel leaned more of her weight into the wall behind her, slumping over. 

Setting her glass down, she began to play with the hem of her dress, which was picking up dirt from the floor. The white lace was undeniably pretty, but Sariel found it scratching where it met bare skin and wanted nothing more than to tear it off then and there. The jewellery she wore was heavy and cold and had a never ending presence, feeling like chains where it sat on her chest and wrists. Even the way her hair and makeup had been fixed meant she couldn’t live as freely as she wished. Everything felt like a restriction, like a reminder. She didn’t belong in this room, didn’t deserve it, she should’ve just stayed in the barracks, that would’ve been easier for everyone. 

“Sariel?”

Her attention was suddenly off of her dress, where she realised she had begun to frustratedly tear at the hem, and on Elyse who was standing in front of, or rather above, her. Elyse looked beautiful, a stark contrast to the rest of the room in the very best way. Elyse’s simple white dress was complimented by the golden wing pieces running the length of her arms. Even from below her, Sariel could clearly see the arcane focus hanging around Elyse’s neck. Sariel quickly wiped away her tears, taking Elyse’s outstretched hand to help herself stand. 

“Elyse,” Sariel muttered, trying to keep her voice composed. “How’s your evening going?”

“Could be worse, I suppose,” Elyse answered before anxiously asking. “Are you alright? Do you need to go outside or something?”

Sariel considered her options, for a moment, but her mind was made up the second Elyse offered. As soon as she began to nod, Elyse took her by the hand and led her towards the open door frame leading to the immense courtyard. However Elyse continued through the courtyard, a labyrinth of roses and walls of leaves. They finally stopped when they were out of sight of everyone else, still dancing inside. 

From where they were, Sariel could still hear the gentle waltz being played and the loud noises generally created by such events: people talking, glasses clinking, laughter, food being served and drinks being refilled. Sariel, now in the fresh air and amongst the plants, at last took a second to breathe and calm herself down. As she began to register her surroundings more and more, she noticed Elyse stood in front of her looking concerned, still grasping Sariel’s hand. 

“Sorry about that,” Sariel muttered, humility forcing her head towards the gravel beneath her feet. 

“It’s really nothing,” Elyse responded, just as quiet as Sariel. “Are you alright though? I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it, but I am here.”

Sariel smiled softly as she felt Elyse squeeze her hand gently as she spoke. 

“I know. I’m sure you’ve realised, but I didn’t particularly want to be here for a reason.” 

Elyse tugged Sariel’s hand, forcing her eyeline onto the Ospeian girl. Elyse’s eyes were riddled with worry, but she was smiling warmly, and Sariel couldn’t help but shyly reciprocate. 

“Do you want to dance?” Elyse asked suddenly, continuing at Sariel’s look of unease. “You don’t have to or anything, I just thought that it might take your mind off everything, since we can still hear the music, yknow?” 

Sariel pondered the suggestion, at first anxiously, but then curiously when she saw Elyse’s face, unguarded and softened. Sariel found herself nodding before her thoughts could even catch up with her. 

Elyse grinned, still being cautious, twisting the hand still holding Sariel’s into position and wrapping the other around Sariel’s waist. Sariel, in turn, brought her hand to rest on Elyse’s shoulder, wriggling through the cold metal of her wing piece to the warm skin of her shoulder. Elyse used the arm hooked around Sariel’s waist to bring the pair closer, so close that Sariel could see the stars of the night sky reflected in Elyse’s eyes. 

Elyse was not, admittedly, the best dance partner Sariel had ever had. Even though it had been Elyse to pull them together, it felt as though she was being overly careful to not drift any closer to the small elf, and she was guiding far too softly to actually be called the lead. Sariel, however, followed her actions anyway, noting how diligently Elyse followed the structure of the dance. They continued like this for a minute or two, awkwardly drifting together through the courtyard, before Sariel paused. 

“Elyse?” 

“Yeah?” Came the anxious response. 

“If you’re going to lead, you need to actually lead? Like how we practised earlier.” Sariel spoke, finding herself regaining the voice she had lost in her earlier panic. 

Elyse, instead of responding, nodded quickly, pulling Sariel even closer and beginning to actually lead. Enjoying the dance, Sariel watched Elyse’s face turn from concentration to a soft smile. They quickly fell into a gentle pattern, neither feeling the need for dramatic gestures or sudden stunts. Sariel closed her eyes as she danced, listening to the music playing as it blended with the sounds of the wind and the night around the couple. A breeze blew past the pair, but Sariel hardly noticed, the warmth of Elyse radiating and keeping them both from shivering. 

The waltz, after a while, drew to a close, and Elyse spun Sariel as the music faded, both girls freely smiling by this point. When the song was replaced by a faster-paced tango of some description, neither felt the need to keep up with the tempo, instead finding a small area for sitting and taking a seat beside each other as they both caught their breath. 

Instead of conversation, the sounds of the night echoed between them, birds and zephyr and foliage. Elyse kicked at the gravel ground with her feet, creating a rhythmic stirring sound as Sariel took deep breaths of the fresh air. 

“Thank you, Elyse,” Sariel spoke, breaking the peaceful silence between the two. “If you hadn’t brought me out here, that could’ve gone a lot worse.” 

“No problem,” Elyse answered. “Anything for a friend.”

At the word friend, Elyse looked up from the gravel and into Sariel’s eyes. Any words that Sariel would have spoken instantly died on her tongue as her mouth turned dry. Before Sariel even knew what she was doing, she was leaning in, gently closing her eyes and, to her surprise, so was Elyse. 

When their lips met, it was indescribable. It felt simultaneously like a spark and a storm, energy pouring between the pair as they leaned into each other. Elyse’s arm found its place around Sariel’s waist, where it had been before, as Sariel’s shot up against Elyse’s cheek. The sounds of the ball faded, leaving Sariel with no audio but the nature around them, Elyse and her own drumming heart. They broke apart, a wide smile overtaking Elyse’s face as a shy one grew on Sariel’s. 

“I-” Elyse began, but was cut short as the sound of glass shattering from inside the ball. 

The two turned to each other, both clearly concerned, the moment between them quickly forgotten. Elyse jumped up, craning her neck to try to see the source of the noise, as Sariel clambered onto the bench she had been sat on to get a look. The view they both reviewed of Vanden being flung across the dance floor let them both know all they needed to know as they suddenly raced towards the ball once more, anything happening between them completely abandoned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Bev for reading through this and making sure I actually make sense! <3
> 
> Also episode 33 hasn’t been released yet so I have no way of knowing how canon compliant this is.


End file.
